FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Eligibility for Akiptan services are reserved for:
Any individual or entity engaged in agriculture and food systems, including but not limited to: growing, processing, distributing, or selling food or food products with a goal of improving the Indian use of Indian resources within the service area. All applicants must be actively involved in the day to day labor and management decisions of the operation unless they are temporarily uninvolved due to pursuing further education or other extenuating circumstances to be determined by the Loan Committee.
What do you consider agriculture?
When many people think of agriculture the first thing that comes to mind are farming and ranching, but we go beyond that. We define agriculture very broadly. For example we finance cattle and other livestock operations, farms, fisheries, greenhouses, etc. Akiptan does operating loans as well as ownership loans.
How do I get started? How do I apply?
To apply, we invite you to complete our online intake form here. Once that is completed our Loan Administrator will reach out to you with next steps. The Intake Form helps to Akiptan get to know you. You may also contact us by phone or email to ask any questions.
What does the loan process include?
The loan process begins with discovery and intake to get to know the client. Then you move into technical assistance and application completion, review and closing, then aftercare. Learn more about Akiptan in this webinar recording.
What is this "Investment Option" I keep hearing about?
Akiptan does regular term loans, but we also have what we like to call our "Investment Option." This option resembles a loan with an interest only repayment period. The smaller, interest only payments allow for the operation to have upfront capacity growth and for profits to be reinvested back into the operation. This puts operations on a path to success and easy principal repayment after the interest only payments. Check out this blog that explains the Investment Option in more detail HERE.
What are your Loan Limits?
Akiptan's current Loan Limits are $250,000, but we are working on raising that limit.
What is the timeline like?
While Akiptan does its best to handle everything in a timely manner, this is not an immediate thing. The part of the process that typically takes the longest is the gathering information/application process. This is dependent on the client's ability to get the staff the information and forms that they need. This can take anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks. After the staff has all of the information that they need, they put together a loan narrative to send to the Loan Committee for review. The review process can take a week or two, depending on the loan activity. If there are a lot of unanswered questions, it may take longer. It is best to put in an application as soon as possible, but having a couple of months time is preferable. The less rushed the application is the better. If your loan is approved, we can hold the money until you are ready to use it, which helps save on interest as well.
What is the Heir's Property Relending Program?
Heirs’ property is a legal term that refers to family land inherited without a will or legal documentation of ownership. It has historically been challenging for heirs to benefit from USDA programs because of the belief that they cannot get a farm number without proof of ownership or control of land. Learn more about heirs’ property and how USDA can help establish a farm number.
As an Intermediary lender, Akiptan will make loans to heirs who:
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Are individuals or legal entities with authority to incur the debt and to resolve ownership and succession of a farm owned by multiple owners;
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Are a family member or heir-at-law related by blood or marriage to the previous owner of the property;
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Agree to complete a succession plan.
If you’re an heir, you may use the loans to resolve title issues by financing the purchase or consolidation of property interests and financing costs associated with a succession plan. This may also include costs of buying out fractional interests of other heirs to clear the title, which includes closing costs, appraisals, title searches, surveys, preparing documents, mediation, and legal services. Akiptan is one of three, of the first three lenders approved or conditionally approved. Heirs should contact our office for more information on applying.